Offa, an Islamic property finance fintech in the UK, has acquired an Alburaq Sharia-compliant home finance portfolio from the Bank of Ireland in a landmark deal for an undisclosed fee.
Through the acquisition of the Alburaq portfolio, which includes over 350 home purchase plans, customers transferred over to Offa will now have access to a wider range of Sharia-compliant property finance products.
The Offa team, based in Birmingham, constructed a Sharia-compliant funding structure to minimise legal and tax issues – becoming the first financial institution to buy an Islamic home finance book in the UK.
Amir Firdaus, chief financial officer at Offa, also commented: “It is testament to Offa’s abilities that Bank of Ireland has agreed to sell their Islamic home finance portfolio to us. This marks another chapter in Offa’s ambitious growth plans. Members of the Offa executive team are already very much familiar with Alburaq’s clients, having helped distribute this book almost two decades ago, and we are delighted that these customers are now coming home to us.
“Those who have been transferred as part of this purchase and are eligible will now have access to a wider range of Sharia-compliant property re-financing options. We are now focused on ensuring a seamless migration for customers to our servicing platform.”
The news comes shortly after Offa launched its new buy-to-let (BTL) service, boasting fast funding decisions delivered via a paperless process – also aiming to disrupt the traditionally old-fashioned world of Islamic finance.
Instead of using interest, Offa’s BTL product involves the Islamic finance principles of co-ownership-with-leasing. Customers acquire the property in partnership with Offa and make monthly payments to increase their share, over time owning it.
Offa has £230million of sharia-compliant funding for its BTL product, offering capacity for the business to expand and diversify its financial propositions in the UK property market.
